Welcome to the New Year! Have you finished digging out from the clutter and chaos of the holidays yet? And how about those New Year's Resolutions? Let's review those....

Is "Lose Weight" the first (or perhaps, only) item on your list? Or maybe, in the spirit of mixing things up a bit, you've considered "Eat Better" or "Exercise More". I'm willing to bet that any of those come with a nice heaping portion of self-recrimination, too. Lots of "if-onlys". If only...I'd stuck to this last year. If only...I could get off my butt and get to the gym. If only...I could lay off the chips. I would like to propose a challenge this year. How about, instead of judging yourself or planning a regimen of self-denial, you think about adding things to your life that will be pleasurable and enjoyable! For example: I will go online and find two new recipes for a vegetable that I've always wanted to try, and prepare them this month. Or how about: I will think about what kind of movement activities would be fun for me and try one...and yes, sledding, skating, and snowball fights totally count!

Something I say frequently to clients is "the weight will do what the weight will do". Weight is largely biologically determined and beyond our control. What we *can* control are healthy habits, including moving our bodies, eating nutritious food, and getting proper sleep. See what happens if you gradually start making changes with the primary goal being better health, not weight loss!